Do Stronger Age Discrimination Laws Make Social Security Reforms More Effective? by David Neumark and Joanne Song
WP 2011-249

Using Health and Retirement Study data with linked Social Security Administration records, we find that 28 percent of individuals who experienced a work limitation while employed received an accommodation.

The probability of receiving an accommodation increased in the post-1992 period following the implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Our estimates confirm that accommodation effectively reduces the probability of application for SSDI following the onset of a work limitation.

Providing an employee with an accommodation after the onset of a work limitation would reduce applications to the SSDI program by 27 percent within a year and 30 percent within five years of onset.

These findings suggest that the provision of workplace accommodations would be an effective strategy for reducing applications for SSDI benefits, and potentially the number of people receiving SSDI.